If you’re on literally any social media platform, you probably heard about the ‘strawberry dress’ this summer. You know the one, with the glittery strawberries and big puffy sleeves, the dress that you either adore or despise. The ‘strawberry dress’, by designer Lirika Matoshi, went viral slowly during late July and then suddenly in August as it gained notoriety on TikTok within the app’s popular ‘cottagecore’ aesthetic.
The dress has been available for purchase since last year, but it was really its recent social media exposure which brought it into the public eye and captured many hearts with its pink tulle and unattainability factor, for some of us. Priced at $490 (or £370), it's an indulgent design that has inspired many cheaper duplicates.
On August 17th, plus-size model and blogger, Tess Holliday, took to Twitter and Instagram to point out that she wore the now famous ‘strawberry dress’ back in January at the Grammy Awards without much attention or notability. Tess claimed that the outfit landed her on ‘worst dressed’ lists, although a Google search does not bring up any such results.
Whether or not those lists were published, there is a lot of truth to the double standard that the model was highlighting in her posts. Tess wore the dress in the public sphere and it did not garner any fame, until worn by white, slim, TikTok influencers. Now the dress is an internet sensation, desired largely for its uniqueness and ambition, sure to be a standout outfit at any event. And the truth is that it is difficult for ‘fat’ people to be ambitious in fashion.
The ‘strawberry dress’ is an example of aspirational fashion- made clear by its fluctuation in popularity even during a time when most formal social occasions have been suspended, and most people are wearing pyjamas at home rather than donning pink, flowing dresses. But when we talk about aspiration within the parameters of fashion and beauty standards, the industry often excludes anyone who doesn’t have the ‘aspirational body’- thin. Whilst society views slim as the ideal body type, does it limit women of different size from partaking in aspirational fashion? Lirikia Matoshi’s ‘strawberry dress’ only ranges up to Size 16 and Tess Holliday had to have hers tailored to her body type, an expense that the average woman cannot afford.
Inclusion is happening at a marginal rate and trends are frequently exclusive only to one idealised body type, almost implying that women of bigger sizes and shapes have no interest in being on trend or wearing statement pieces. It often takes months for brands’ plus size ranges to adopt the same styles that are sold in their main collection, leaving plus size consumers to choose from the limited options allowed to them.
Many plus size ranges never incorporate the best-selling items that are popular among slimmer customers. Even when they do, many bigger women say they actively avoid following current trends for fear that they would be criticised. This assumption that a woman can’t ‘pull off’ a certain trend if she is wearing a bigger fit, creates psychological scars that ‘fat’ women carry with them into a clothing store or into their online shopping basket.
Fatphobia is the fashion industry’s worst kept secret and our eyes have long since been opened to its perseverance in our everyday beauty standards, so why has change been so limited? The reality is that whilst ‘fat’ women have been and continue to be vocal about the way in which this prejudice limits their fashion options and damages the way they perceive their own body image, industry leaders and innovators are not listening. Until society stops heralding one specific body type as the aspirational appearance, the fashion industry will continue to prioritise this size and place barriers between plus-size women and current clothing trends. Revision of exclusive beauty standards would create a fashion world where we all have the equal choice to love or hate the ‘strawberry dress’.
By Laura Mehers
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